economic divide. how americans are reacting to last night's first presidential debate. out of order, this fight in a south carolina courtroom. androwning achievement. miguel cabrera joins one of major league baseball's most elite groups. good morning. i'm lynne berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. we are going to begin with an economic showdown. president obama and mitt romney

squared off for the first of three presidential debates. what some are calling a polite war of words, they talked about education and health care. tracie potts is in denver for us covering all the details. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. the pressure was on for romney to perform, back up his ideas with details, taking on one of the most skilled debaters in modern politics. the point was to make differences clear. >> you said you would cut the deficit in half, it's four years later. >> the way we do it is $2.50 for every cut. we ask for $1 additional revenue. pay for by asking those of us who have done well to contribute more to reduce the deficit. >> reporter: the president insisted romney would spend $5

million. >> math, common sense and history shows it's not a recipe of job growth. >> everything he said about my plan is inaccurate. >> reporter: medicare -- >> cutting from medicare to balance the additional cost of obama care is a mistake. >> if you repeal obama care, and i have become fond of this term, obama care, if you repeal it, those seniors are going to pay more for prescriptions. >> reporter: the exchange over health care and jobs. >> i don't know how the president could come into office facing 23 million people out of work, economic crisis at the kitchen table and fight for obama care instead of fighting for jobs for the american people. >> we did work on this alongside working on jobs. this is part of making sure middle class families are

secure. >> romney challenging his to se exchange had any impact on voters. it had impact online. on twitter, the most tweeted event in u.s. political history. lynne? >> thanks so much. what did everyone think about how the candidates did? post debate polls believe mitt romney did better than president obama. a cnn orc poll shows 67% of registered voters chose mr. romney as the winner. 25% picked mr. obama. uncommitted voters 46% identified romney as the winner, 22% barack obama. they brought up countless statistics and figures of cuts and increases. andrea mitchell looked into the

truth. >> let me repeat what i said. i'm not in favor of a $5 trillion tax cut. my plan is not to add to the deficit. >> romney proposed making the bush tax cuts permanent for all levels. he would repeal the alternative minimum tax and the estate tax. the snon-partisan tax said it would cost $4.8 trillion over ten years. romney said his plan would be paid for. to pay for the cuts, he would have to close loopholes in the tax codes and get red of deductions and credits. he hasn't said which he'd get rid of, saying he would work with congress. president obama said his plan would cut the deficit by $4 trillion. >> we all know we have to do more. so, i put forward a specific $4 trillion deficit reduction plan. it's on a website. you can look at all the numbers,

what cuts we make and what revenue we raise. >> that comes from the budget and policy priorities. the president is counting money saved by letting the bush tax cuts expire for people making more than $250,000 a year. he's counting $1 trillion in savings but cutting down the wars in iraq and afghanistan. the committee for responsible budget called that a gimmick. they were deficit financed in the first place. the president is counting on savings from last year when the white house and congress raised the debt ceiling. >> andrea mitchell reporting. lawrence o'donnell asked martin o'malley what president obama should do next time he faces mitt romney in a debate? >> i think the president has to keep doing what he's doing.

be truthful about why he made the choices he made. keep talking about the fact we are moving forward, not back with positive job growth. he has to continue to press governor romney that he's not putting forth the specifics of how he would do the various things he promised. it is a choice right now between two alternatives. i think problem's is based on the reality of the decisions we must make together as a people if we want a better and stronger economy. don't miss lawrence o'donnell on msnbc, the place for politics. here is a look at other news. in south carolina, a viole attack caught on camera. a convicted robbery defendant surprised his public defender with a roundhouse hit in the face after getting a 15-year

sentence. he was left with a bloody mouth. he had an additional six months tacked on to the sentence. the trend of criminal behavior continues in florida. a man with a machete came into the police station. officers used a taser and tackled him to the ground. on a much lighter note, a washington redskins fanatic transformed his yard into this scene. he used his skills to decorate his lawn with the logo and colors. he spends hundreds of dollars on mulch each year to freshen up the display. that is commitment. for more, we turn to bill karins. was there a refrigerator filled with beer there? >> an easy chair? he deserves it after that.

it fits october, the fall colors works. >> it works. the redskins are thanking you. >> i haven't seen the seattle seahawks uniforms. they are bright. we are talking a snowstorm this morning. the first of the season rolling through north dakota. dropped snow in montana. it's intensifying now. we are going get school cancellations in grand forks. 40-mile-per-hour winds and six inches of snow. by anyone's standards, that's a snowstorm. it's going to spread into the northwest corner of minnesota. fargo could get some. here is a web cam, the university of north dakota medical school. you can see the snow coming down. there's a car in the background getting snow covered. as temperatures fall, you'll see the snow accumulating on the roads. as far as how much snow, six to

12 inches to the north and west of grand forks on the minnesota side. fargo, north dakota, one to three inches. just an early taste of winter for them. new york city down to d.c., it's a mild morning on the eastern sea board. the humidity is still with us. the cold air in the middle of the country is going to take a bit to get to the east coast. >> thanks so much. hp plunges. fbi black market bus and hiring 300,000 employees. sounds good. celebrities offer brutal critiques of last night's presidential debate. that's just ahead. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. [ female announcer ] ready for a taste of what's hot?

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some of the big stories this morning, four people died, 26

sick after a meningitis outbreak. it's a steroid injection given to those with severe back pain. a massachusetts pharmacy believed to be the source of the outbreak suspended operations recalling hundreds of doses. in iran, anti-government protests over the collapsing currency. police clashed with demonstrators. the currency lost 40% of the value in a week. health officials warned dozens of weight loss substances are illegally labeled. one out of five products bought in stores or online claim to prevent or cure deadly diseases. remember this? the late crocodile hunter, steve irwin clutching his baby boy as he went face-to-face with predators? that baby is 8 years old. he fed a crock hymn for the first time at the family zoo in

australia. this mornings dish of scrambled politics. the debate is the most tweeted event in police cal history. it sparked more than 2 million tweets. big bird from "sesame street" caused the peak of the tweets at 17,000 per minute. when romney said he loved the character but wanted to eliminate funding for the show and all public broadcasting. celebs were lighting up the stooer. bill maher said, i can't believe i'm saying this, but obama looks like he needs a teleprompter. eva longoria said i'm in new zealand watching the debate. obama is killing it on health care. both need to speak slower. a nonpolitical bush weighed in.

nfl running back reggie bush said romney was aggressive at times and won the debate but i think obama will be reelected as president. jetblue is offering american who is might be upset about their candidates defeat a chance to follow through on threats to leave the country. you can sign up at a jetblue website for a chance to win one of 1,000 free trips to a tropical vacation destination. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. here is your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow closed down. the s&p was up five and nasdaq up 15. overseas trading, in tokyo, the nikkei rose. a mixed bag of news for wall street sends hp shares plunging

to a nine-year low after sending up a caution flag for next year's earnings. adp reported the private sector added 162,000 new jobs. according to usa today, six chains are hiring upwards of 300,000 holiday workers. facebook will test whether users will pay to post on their friend's news feed. chick-fil-a reiterated support for biblical families. the fbi raided a houston company for exporting military technology to russia. 84-year-old oil tycoon pickens is putting another x in texas divorcing wife number four. one city official says it's getting tough to tell the average joe from the average millionaire. how do you turn five bucks

in a fortune? do we have your attention? let it sit around for awhile. this one given to vice president charles fairbanks in 1905 could fetch $300,000 at auction. not bad. a flop in the nba and fines. wild cards fight on and sean peyton returns to the superdome. the first triple crown winner in 45 years. your first look at sports ahead. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. trust duracell...?? duralock power preserve. locks in power for up to 10 years in storage. now...guaranteed. duracell with duralock. trusted everywhere.

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good morning and welcome back. it is time to get a check at what is new in sports. happy folks in detroit. miguel cabrera joins a group of legends finishing with 44 home runs and 139 rbis. he won the 15th triple crown in major league history and the first since boston's in 1967. cabrera joins an elite list that includes lou gehrig. he's leaving his detroit team for the playoffs. the as beat the rangers to clinch last night. texas will play the orioles friday night in the a.l. wild game. the os were shut down. evan longoria who homered four times. with that, the yankees clinched

the a.l. east. 4 for 4 with two home runs and six rbis. new york had a 14-2 victory. they will play either the rangers or orioles starting on sunday. the national league wild card slot will be decided by the braves/cardinals game friday. let's get a check at football. suspended sean payton can attend the game at the superdome on sunday night. finally, to basketball where the nba adopted a new anti-flopping rule that will apply a fine to players for repeated violations. the league official said the exaggerated falls to the floor has quote, no place in our game. we agree. it's terrible acting. now for a look at the weather, here is bill karins with the

weather forecast. >> those are great clips. >> put them on repeat. >> the phantom fall. the areas in north dakota and northwest minnesota is where the snow is and coming down hard. interstate 29 is the worst drive. the fog is not going to make it too easy. not as bad as yesterday morning, but there's patchy fog and drizzles and showers popping up in central, pennsylvania. keep the umbrella handy. central and southern new england. if we get sun, a stray thunderstorm or two. it's still very warm and humid. it's like a summertime set up. enjoy the warmth while it lasts. it will slowly make its way through the great lakes and the east coast by sunday. areas in the 80s could be in the 50s with rain sunday. enjoy it. >> thank you very much. a scare for ashton kutcher

fans and words of advice for honey boo-boo. star of "the voice," christina aguilera is getting something from secretary of state, hillary clinton. you are watching "first look" on msnbc. [ man ] ring ring... progresso

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here is what people are talking about. tonight was the first presidential debate between barack obama and romney. it was the obama's 20th wedding anniversary. weird during the debate when obama promised to balance the budget, cut taxes and be home by

10:00 for cuddling time. romney made a stop at chipotle. tonight, jimmy welcomes james bond, and musical act animal collective. that's late night with jimmy fallon on your local nbc station. it's time for entertainment news. l.a.p.d. was punked. a s.w.a.t. team was around the home. at a state department ceremony, secretary of state, hillary clinton honored "the voice" coach, christina aguilera for her work to fight global hunger. >> if i could sing, christina, i

would -- i would want to be on your team. but, since i can't, i'm glad you are on this team. >> finally, jersey shore cast members, the situation and pauly dean have advice for honey boo boo. they say the 7-year-old star should run with it and go for it. they also predict honey boo boo will become the new snooki because she and her family are just as crazy. we should point out, she's seven. i think they mean -- >> she was on toddlers and tiar tiaras. now she's got her own show. she's the new it girl. >> why do you know so much about it? is it honey boo boo or honey boo boo child? >> honey boo boo.

i'm going to make you watch the show. >> i haven't seen an entire episode. we need to get you a hobby. this is "first look" on msnbc. way too early is next. what things would i cut from spending? i would eliminate all programs by this test, if they don't pass it. is it so critical it's worth borrowing money from china. obama care is on the list. i use that term with all respect. >> i like it. >> i'll get rid of that. >> mitt romney targeting the president's record on jobs, the deficit among other things as they met face-to-face for the first time in the 2012 presidential race. i'm willie geist.